SMS Pro Aviation Safety Software Blog 4 Airlines & Airports

10 Tasks for Getting SMS Program Started (And In This Order)

Most Important Items for Getting SMS Program Started

Getting an SMS program started from ground zero may be confusing and difficult. There so much to do.

There SO much guidance (too much guidance perhaps). It’s no wonder new safety managers feel like they are drowning when a safety program gets dropped in their lap.

The questions essential and most important questions safety managers have to get their aviation SMS program started are:

What do I need to do to get started?

How do I get started?

These two separate questions are two sides of the same coin: what tasks are most needed to get the aviation SMS program started? Many safety managers fail to try and answer this question, and instead get lost in (misguided) SMS planning, such as with an SMS implementation plan.

The following tasks will provide the foundation you need to get clarity for:

Here are the 10 tasks you can follow for getting your aviation SMS program started. These tasks are in order – try to complete each task as fully as possible before moving on.

1 – Get Upper Management Support

First and foremost, it’s is absolutely, critically, SO important that your accountable executive (and upper management team if applicable) supports the safety program. Without upper management support, your safety program will:

Not be sustainable;

Lack needed resources; and

Not feature the kind of top-down behavior needed for success.

Getting upper management support means:

Accountable executive takes ownership and responsibility for SMS program; and

Upper management is willing to provide financial resources to program.

The safety culture survey data will give you a starting point to understand current state of affairs and build upon it in the future. Make notes about areas of safety culture that need help, and add them to a list called: “SMS Elements That Need My Attention.” This list will be invaluable later.

7 – Review Historical Reporting Data (If Any)

In conjunction with understanding safety culture, you need to also understand the historical safety performance of your program. If you program is completely new, this task is not applicable. If you do have historical safety data, simply review it to see:

What implementation steps have been made;

The quality of hazard reporting culture; and

The high-level problems (such as risk controls, silos, etc.)

Add any major problem areas to your list, “SMS Elements That Need My Attention.” This list will be invaluable later.

8 – Perform Gap Analysis

Gap analysis will help you get a high level overview of how implemented your aviation SMS program is, including:

Where your safety program is now; and

Where you want it to be in the future.

See the following article on how to perform a gap analysis. Once done, take your negative findings and add them to your list of “SMS Elements That Need My Attention.”

9 – Create Goals and Objectives

Creating goals and objectives is a task which is where you embark on defining what safety performance means to your organization.

Goals are high level, qualitative elements of safety that you would like to achieve in your SMS program;

Objectives are directly tied to goals, and are specific, measurable ways of assessing your goals.

10 – Establish Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators will be the baseline for performance in your safety program.

Final Thought: Create Implementation Plan LATER

Now, once all of these tasks are complete, you can breathe a little. You have some of your afety management system foundations in place, and you can begin to plan.

Remember your list of “SMS Elements That Need My Attention”? Now it’s time to use this list.

Review it;

Establish which safety pillar and/or other major elements of your SMS program need the most work;

Acquire an SMS implementation plan checklist; and

Reorder the checklist to best fit the safety needs in your list.

Finally, it can be a great idea to simply understand how you manage your safety program. You need to make sure you safety management style reflects the safety needs of your organization. Take this awesome, free, 10 question safety management style quiz: